One can identify three clusters of factors which have constrained Pakistan's capacity to integrate with South and Southwest Asia: the violent partition of the sub-continent and the unresolved issue of Pakistan's identity and the role of Islam in the administration of the country; the multi-ethnic and odd geographic nature of the country; and Pakistan's alliance with the United States. This article argues that Pakistan has sought to compensate for this isolation by building ties with countries outside its own region, notably China and the Middle East. This has not only further isolated Pakistan from its immediate region but also fuelled subsequent domestic instability.